The Key to Prosperity in the Bread Basket of the World

The Key to Prosperity in the Bread Basket of the World

The Canadian Northern Railway grew swiftly from its creation in 1899 to its nationalization in 1918. In the same vein as the Grand Trunk’s Bread: Terse Stories of Success, the company published The Key to Prosperity in the Bread Basket of the World. “The Bread Basket of the World” was a common slogan among railway and land development companies promoting the West, evoking the Prairies’ potential for bountiful harvests. This potential was realized when the land was seeded with Red Fife wheat, the first variety to flourish in Canada (Musgrave 146). Marquis wheat, developed in 1909 and exemplifying excellent yield, high-quality milling, and a shorter growing period of under one hundred days, was even more successful; by 1920 it was grown on about nine-tenths of total Prairie wheat acreage (Dexter 265).

Intended for an American readership, this brochure proclaims harvests of forty bushels per acre, declaring that “Canada is the only Country that has proved good enough for the American to emigrate to.” The brochure promises that immigrants would find no wild frontier—only civilization—and might hardly realize that they were in a different nation. In addition to social benefits, the booklet noted that the soil and weather were well suited for wheat, oats, barley, speltz (spelt), and peas, as well as grasses and fodders, with enough water for dairy farming. Root vegetables, potatoes, legumes, and small fruits were possible as well.

Canadian Northern Railway Company

[1911?]